August 5, 2018 By JamieLeave a CommentBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Now that the kids are back in school – we’re back to being lunch-making machines every morning.Assembly line sandwiches are the norm around here – but once in awhile I like to mix it up with something kind of fun. These DIY Pizza Lunchables are yummy, inexpensive and totally customizable to each child!

DIY Pizza Lunchables

Back when I was a kid we occasionally had french bread pizzas, or English Muffin pizzas on special occasions and we *loved* them.

This recipe uses english muffins for the crust – but you could just as easily sub in Arnold Sandwich Thins or even bagels. You could also plan ahead to make this BEST homemade pizza dough recipe into a dozen or so small crusts. (They freeze great!)

Ingredients:

English Muffins

Pizza or Spaghetti Sauce

Shredded Cheese and Parmesan Cheese

Pepperoni or other toppings (optional)

I always have a few parmesan packets leftover in the fridge from some pizza place or another – and those are PERFECT for including in your DIY pizza lunchable kit. Just enough for two mini pizzas!

Directions for Making DIY Pizza Lunchables:

Slice open an English muffin and place it in a sandwich container. (You can toast it to get more of a crunchy crust)

August 4, 2018 By CarrieLeave a CommentBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Some of the littles like lunchables but I prefer to make our own. For the 1st day back to school, I like to put in a special treat (works well for birthdays or a special occasions like a great report card too!). We throw in a variety of goodies, like lean ham, a veggie, nuts, cheese, fruit cup and water. Some like carrots, some like broccoli; every combination is different.

July 23, 2018 By JamieLeave a CommentBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Summer is here and July means Shark Week! Shark Week if you’re new is a week long event on Discovery Channel. Shark fans will tell you this is the place to be (or thing to watch) every year. You can see educational shows about every kind of shark and then see the shark attack and close encounters all without having to leave the comfort of your home! (Thank goodness right?) We thought these adorable Shark Oreo Cookies would be a great way to get the kids together and make them (for older littles) and serve them as a sweet treat while you watch all Shark Week long. I promise these are A LOT easier than they may look. Plus once you make these I guarantee you’ll want to try other themes as well.

June 27, 2018 By Tiffany3 CommentsBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

I have found with kids and adults alike that sometimes presentation is all that matters.

Last year I was playing around with some ideas of things I can do for the 4th of July fun we have every year. I made a few fancy punches and drinks to serve, and some nice brownies with 5 different steps. I had some mason jars sitting on my shelf and the kids were coming in from gymnastics, so I grabbed the Kool Aid from the fridge and served them a drink in a jar with some fruit.

YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THEY WON THE LOTTERY!!

In my head I was thinking, ” it is Kool Aid guys, I just bought it from Kroger for $.79 a container…” it is the extra little touches they don’t normally see from home that made it sooooo special to them.

The little paper straws came from Amazon, and I had them left over from a birthday party. I had the jars, and the fruit.

The kids felt like a million bucks sitting on the porch drinking their Kool Aid.

June 20, 2018 By SarahLeave a CommentBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

I have found with kids and adults alike that sometimes presentation is all that matters.

Last year I was playing around with some ideas of things I can do for the 4th of July fun we have every year. I made a few fancy punches and drinks to serve, and some nice brownies with 5 different steps.

I had some mason jars sitting on my shelf and the kids were coming in from gymnastics, so I grabbed the Kool Aid from the fridge and served them a drink in a jar with some fruit.

YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THEY WON THE LOTTERY!!

In my head I was thinking, ” it is Kool Aid guys, I just bought it from Kroger for $.79 a container…” it is the extra little touches they don’t normally see from home that made it sooooo special to them.

The little paper straws came from Amazon, and I had them left over from a birthday party. I had the jars, and the fruit.

The kids felt like a million bucks sitting on the porch drinking their Kool Aid. 🙂

June 19, 2018 By JamieLeave a CommentBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

I love to put a little extra effort into making the 4th of July really special for our family. To add to the “special” feeling of the day – I always make some fun desserts. Here are some of our family’s favorites over the years!

June 13, 2018 By Tiffany50 CommentsBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Yesterday, because Twinkies were back… I made Minion Cupcakes from Despicable Me.

The problem is that Target did not have real Twinkies, they had the Cloud Cakes, which are NOT Twinkies dang it! But it is what I had to use. Didn’t change how AMAZINGLY cute these little guys turned out though!

Minion Cupcakes from Twinkies

First thing to do, make some cupcakes. I don’t care if you use a mix or make them from scratch. Or do vanilla or chocolate… up to you!

Then make some frosting. Again, either use pre-made or make your own. None of us can eat pre-made and it is fast to make your own, so I always make mine.

Either way, color the frosting blue, for the Minions little blue overall bibs.

Take your Twinkies and cut them in half.

These are the bodies of the Minions. My kids informed me more then once that they are all different sizes. Because I only had one box of Twinkies, I just cut them in half and called it a day.

The best part of the Minions are their eyes and goggles. You have a few choices:

Using some black frosting, make some dots for the eyes, kind of close together. Then press the eye balls into them. Now make some thin lines down the side for the goggle straps.

Some Minions have one eye and some have 2. I always see more 2 eyed Minions, but you can do whatever you want!

Once you have a bunch done, you can add mouths, hair or whatever you want. I was trying to find something good for the hair…

Maybe the thin black licorice strings?

I frosted my Minion cupcakes with a Wilton 1A tipand sprinkled with little blue sprinkles. Again, you can do whatever you want! That is the beauty of it! 🙂

I added a little more frosting to the tops of the cupcakes so that when I pressed the Minions onto the top the frosting came up around the base a little. They seemed to look a little more sturdy that way.

These were actually really quick to make and very cute when they are done. My kids all took pictures and then promptly ate their faces off!

And of course while you’re eating your Minion cupcakes, you’ll probably want to make it a day and settle in for another viewing of Despicable Me…

June 12, 2018 By JamieLeave a CommentBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Flower Cake Pops Recipe

Cake Pops are SUCH a perfect bite-sized treat for a party! They really make you look like you did something fancy, even though they’re actually very easy to make. These Flower Cake Pops are an adorable treat for a summer cookout, girls’ birthday party, or other celebrations.

I honestly think these would be SO PERFECT to hand out to teachers with a sweet note on Teacher Appreciation Day- no need to spend a ton of money!

Here’s what you need to make these bite-sized cakes!

Flower Cake Pops

1. Prepare your cake mix as directed on the box
(Usually calls or oil, eggs, and water)
2. Bake in a 9 x 13 cake pan
3. Scoop your cake out with a spoon into a large mixing bowl
4. Place your bowl of cake in the freezer for 30 minutes
5. After your cake has cooled, mix in your frosting
6. Use a tablespoon and scoop out enough cake mix to make a ping-pong sized ball
7. Roll your cake mix in your palms to form a cake
ball
8. Freeze your cake balls for 30 minutes
9. In a microwave safe bowl, melt your candy melts on 50% power for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted
10. Dip the ends of your lollipop sticks into your melted chocolate and into the bottom of your cake balls and let harden
11. Now dip your cake pop into the melted chocolate and twist until completely covered
12. While your chocolate is still soft, carefully press on 5 of your candy hearts to form a flower
13. Now top off with pastel sprinkles and let your cake pops harden

June 6, 2018 By Tiffany37 CommentsBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

This has long been a fun snack/dinner for my kids camping and after school. You can see my Taco Salad recipe HERE for a bigger dish with catalina dressing. Making this for groups, camping or teens is an awesome way to feed a crowd easily. First brown some ground beef with taco seasoning. I often have this on hand frozen in my freezer anyway. Next cut up or pull out your toppings, which can include the following:

Onions

Cheese

Sour Cream

Salsa

Lettuce

Tomatos

Whatever you like, and if you are camping can travel easily. My kids like to eat theirs with Doritos, but you can also use Fritos.

Now find a kid who will gladly demonstrate how to eat this with perfection! Lucky me I had one walk in the door from school and he was STARVING! Take the bag and break up the chips a bit. Open the bag. Add toppings and meat. Enjoy!

June 6, 2018 By Tiffany12 CommentsBy clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe

It wasn’t until I was in college that I tried freezer jam. Can you believe I had lived my entire life until then without any? Crazy. I would like to take a minute to thank my roommates, it was either Cami, or Chelsea who brought some from home and changed my bagel eating life. This was my staple meal while in school, a plain toasted bagel, with slightly melted plain cream cheese and piled with strawberry freezer jam.

When strawberries are in season you can pick some up for only $.99/lb. This is a great price to pick up extra and make a batch to stick in the freezer.

This is the easiest yummiest most satisfying thing that you can preserve. Take the tops off your strawberries. Toss them into your food processor or a large bowl. Pulse them slowly until they are in small chunks, or mash with a potato masher until smashed. {stick the kids at the table with something to do!}

Don’t over smash them in the food processor. Just small pieces will work!

For every 2 pounds of strawberries mashed, I used 1 1/2 cups sugar and one packet freezer jam fruit pectin.

I got all the supplies from Walmart. I love the nifty little freezer jars they had, they made it easy and the kids could grab then since they are not made of glass.

This is super quick to make, abut 40 minutes and 9 pounds of strawberries later I had this stash to throw into the freezer. Enough to last us for the next few weeks…. just kidding the next month or so It will last up to a year in the freezer or a month or so in the fridge.

If you have not had freezer jam on a bagel with cream cheese, do yourself a favor and make some this summer!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Ingredients

4 cups crushed fresh strawberries

2 cups sugar

1 (1.75 ounce) package dry pectin

3/4 cup water

Directions

Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.

Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours. Place into freezer, and store frozen until ready to use.